PRS-T1 Dictionary Freezing

[DoctorM]

I started using my back up T1 a few days ago. It was fine when I shelved it, but I've noticed now that whenever I highlight a word, the internet link buttons pop-up, but the dictionary doesn't come up and things freeze.

I can usually recover from it, but the dictionary just doesn't open.

Has anyone that has had this fixed it with a factory reset or something?

I know my main reader has been rock solid, but that has only been since I rolled back the firmware and flash directly to the most recent version. (100% bug free for 2-3 years now.)

The dictionary thing I've just never seen before. I can roll the firmware back, but it's a bit of a chore.

[4691mls]

My T1 eventually developed a that problem. I solved it by switching to a T3

Here was a long discussion:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=186654

[DoctorM]

When I get some free time I'll try the firmware rollback. I was just hoping there was an easier answer.

[DoctorM]

And I bricked it.
I tried using Porkupan's SD Rescue Package and nothing much happened (as in everything was unchanged). I couldn't get putty to connect (I'm not sure why), and I accidentally reformatted something (a window popped up and I clicked the format instead of cancel).

Now The reader does the 'opening book' thing, hits the end, the light keeps flashing, but nothing happens.
I tried putting the rescue package on my SD card and using Home/Menu and nothing happens (the sdcard's LED never flashes). Ditto rupor's recovery console.

Without having a way to get the reader to access the SD card, I can't think of a single way to recover this.

[DoctorM]

I'll ask again. Could I be doing something wrong or is there a reason the reader might not access the card that can still be fixed?

Also, barring that, is it possible to swap the screen with another readers? My other PRS-T1 has a small flaw in the screen that makes me crazy.

[Ghitulescu]

Well, I am not British, yet I never needed to open up any dictionary. Thus I do not know whether my T1 has this issue or not, but I know it works like in the first day.
Yeah, like all my tools that do not need internet but can, I did not connected it to internet.

People do strange and unnecessary things to their toys then complain they do not work anylonger.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by Ghitulescu

Well, I am not British, yet I never needed to open up any dictionary. Thus I do not know whether my T1 has this issue or not, but I know it works like in the first day.
Yeah, like all my tools that do not need internet but can, I did not connected it to internet.

People do strange and unnecessary things to their toys then complain they do not work anylonger.

The dictionary on the Sony T-series readers does not require the internet. Using the dictionary built in to the device is not a strange and unnecessary thing. A number of people had problems with the T1 dictionary lockup so it was apparently something wrong with the device, not user error.

I am a native English speaker. Whether I use the dictionary when reading books in English varies depending on the book. Some authors like to use a lot of unusual words and although I can usually figure them out from the context I do sometimes like to check the dictionary.

Also, the Sony readers include translation dictionaries for several other languages. If I am reading a book where the characters occasionally speak a few words in one of these other languages I like to look those up.

If DoctorM really likes Sonys and wants another one, he/she might be able to find a used PRS-T2 or T3. We've had a few people here (RCentros comes to mind as a collector of used readers) who have found used Sonys on ebay and other auction sites. I haven't tried a T2 myself but others here have reported that they are bug-free. And my T3 hardly ever required a restart. I still use it sometimes and it works well.

If DoctorM is ready to move on to another brand of ereader there's always the "which one should I buy" forum

[DoctorM]

Oh, don't get me wrong, the one that bricked is only one of 3 Sony T1's that I own (I recently gave away a Kindle 1). I don't need anything else yet.

I know it was my own screwing around that killed the reader, but I THOUGHT it was what I had previously done that made my other reader 100% bug free for years.
Apparently it wasn't.

The thing is, the bricked device has a good display. I'm now hoping to swap that out with a flawed display in a good reader.

Still, I often wonder how manufacturers fix this sort of thing. They must have another way into the systems when they brick.

[stumped]

Originally Posted by DoctorM

Oh, don't get me wrong, the one that bricked is only one of 3 Sony T1's that I own (I recently gave away a Kindle 1). I don't need anything else yet.

I know it was my own screwing around that killed the reader, but I THOUGHT it was what I had previously done that made my other reader 100% bug free for years.
Apparently it wasn't.

The thing is, the bricked device has a good display. I'm now hoping to swap that out with a flawed display in a good reader.

Still, I often wonder how manufacturers fix this sort of thing. They must have another way into the systems when they brick.

They probably don't fix that sort of thing. Just throw away. The one time I asked Sony to quote for repairing a t3, the quote was 50% higher than the retail price of a replacement. So they are not seriously in the repair busininess

You should be able to swap screens between devices if you are sufficiently dextrous and not risk averse. After all ,you have that 3rd one as a fallback option

[Quoth]

Yes, there is a bug with the T1 dictionary for some users. It can freeze the device if you are trying to add an annotation. Some people had success fixing it by changing the partition boundaries. It doesn't always do it. But it fortunately did when I took it back to CEX for a refund. About the only place I know with a real warranty on second hand stuff. Sometimes pricey, sometimes bargains. You don't get much selling to them, which might be fair enough considering their warranty policy. Two of them near here, or there was. Who knows what the future will bring.
The Sony PRS350 and the 6" version of it and the T3 seem the safest old Sony models to get. Some earlier ones only have LRF, no ePub, though they had a factory upgrade option for a while on at least one model.
The T1 might have been the first Android based model.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by DoctorM

Oh, don't get me wrong, the one that bricked is only one of 3 Sony T1's that I own (I recently gave away a Kindle 1). I don't need anything else yet.

I know it was my own screwing around that killed the reader, but I THOUGHT it was what I had previously done that made my other reader 100% bug free for years.
Apparently it wasn't.

The thing is, the bricked device has a good display. I'm now hoping to swap that out with a flawed display in a good reader.

Still, I often wonder how manufacturers fix this sort of thing. They must have another way into the systems when they brick.

Sounds like you enjoy tinkering with old devices. Maybe you can find parts (or an old reader to be used for parts) on ebay.

[Ghitulescu]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

The dictionary on the Sony T-series readers does not require the internet.

I know that.
However, when I mentioned internet, it was double-fold:
first, that if one doesn't need a function, one should not use it then cry wolf
secondly, that accessing the internet, besides filling the Sony with a lot of ballast, may also have unwanted side-effects (background updating of software, firmware, libraries (dictionaries) etc., and these different versions of software, firmware, OS, libraries may collide.

Reports are that accessing the dictionaries could freeze the Sony. I used it only once, but I am not sure whether it was the T1, T2 or T3 (I have all 3), just out of curiosity. It didn't lock.

Not using the dictionary feature is a small price to be paid with the reward of a nice, elegant ereader. I only miss the backlight.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by Ghitulescu

I know that.
However, when I mentioned internet, it was double-fold:
first, that if one doesn't need a function, one should not use it then cry wolf
secondly, that accessing the internet, besides filling the Sony with a lot of ballast, may also have unwanted side-effects (background updating of software, firmware, libraries (dictionaries) etc., and these different versions of software, firmware, OS, libraries may collide.

Reports are that accessing the dictionaries could freeze the Sony. I used it only once, but I am not sure whether it was the T1, T2 or T3 (I have all 3), just out of curiosity. It didn't lock.

Not using the dictionary feature is a small price to be paid with the reward of a nice, elegant ereader. I only miss the backlight.

Dictionaries are a standard function of ereaders. We shouldn't have to avoid using the dictionary in order to avoid the dictionary locking up.

As for the internet - one big reason a lot of people (including me) bought the Sonys was because they had the ability to get library books directly on the device (this no longer works due to Overdrive system changes over the years, but at the time we bought the readers it was an important function for many of us.) Sony didn't issue a lot of updates anyway (unlike Kobo which seems to be continually tinkering with theirs.)

My T3 never developed the dictionary lockup problem. I think T2 and T3 users here generally reported that they were bug-free. So whatever the problem was with the T1, Sony apparently got it fixed for the T2 and T3.

I'm glad your reader still does what you want it to do. Since you have no interest in the dictionary, maybe your T1 will keep going for a long time!